FOREST GOVERNANCE AND SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. This item is unavailable.FOREST GOVERNANCE AND SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Forest Governance and Sustainable Resource Management vividly presents the current state of management and governance of forests and other natural resources in India.

It focuses on the substantial underperformance and need to ensure effective implementation of the national forest policy to arrest further depletion of India’s rapidly declining forest cover. The book extensively covers the history of forestry in India, the various forest policies, the legal and management frameworks, the various international conventions and protocols for dealing with climate change and how effective forest management can enable their implementation. It recommends various strategic, implementational and governance reforms to deal effectively with the current situation. A highlight of this book is its extensive coverage of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+), a climate change mitigation solution adopted by the United Nations, and India’s state of readiness in implementing it. The book suggests that foresters need to overcome their siege mentality and instead work towards empowering themselves to play a more proactive role in saving India’s forest resources.

Irshad A. Khan is an expert on forestry and natural resources management, with more than 35 years of professional experience in the areas of forest management and environmental protection. He recently (in 2012–2013) headed a USAID-funded Forest-PLUS programme aimed at REDD+ preparedness. Previously, he spent nine years as a Senior Forestry Specialist with the World Bank, where he designed, appraised and supervised forestry and watershed projects, and performed policy and institutional capacity analysis in more than seven Indian states, while serving as team leader for the World Bank’s entire forestry and watershed portfolio in India. 

He joined the Indian Forest Service (IFS) in 1975 and retired from the IFS in 2011. He held the post of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests with the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, and served as Head of the State Forest Department, Head of the Wildlife Department and Chairman of the State Pollution Control Board. He has worked as a counterpart coordinated with many international donors in India’s forest sector while serving the Ministry of Environment and Forests as the Deputy Inspector General of Forests and the Head of the Externally Aided Forestry Projects Division, where he oversaw the preparation, appraisal and implementation of 20 projects.

He holds a Master of Science degree in Forestry and Its Relation to Land Management from the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, as well as the Associate of the Indian Forest College PG Diploma (AIFC) equivalent of a Master of Science degree in Forestry, Wildlife and Allied Subjects from the Indian forestry college, the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA), Dehradun, India. He has written several books, papers and articles.